The 13th Warrior

1999

The surprising thing about The 13th Warrior—at least once you get past the opening credits—is that it isn’t the schizoid mess of clashing sensibilities one would presume it to be, given its production history. Stripped of the novel’s meta-fictional gimmicks and dry humor, and with only some of McTiernan’s vision, it still works well as a medieval adventure yarn. The storytelling is occasionally rushed and clunky, but the action—almost all of it McTiernan’s—is atmospheric and gritty.